❛But of course I fell in love with my demons.
They were the only ones who stuck around.❜

 — thecarissamaestory on Tumblr 

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The alarm clock beside Roman's bed went off, making the boy glance up from his book curiously. He honestly hadn't noticed how much time had passed, but once his focus from the Italian book had been broken, he realized that he'd almost finished it during the night. The blond's body felt sluggish and heavy, but he knew that this was for the best. Sleeping brought nightmares and terror, and it was best to stay away from those sorts of things the first night he'd be staying with his brother. Maybe Blake could see what his nights looked like after a few weeks, but until then, he didn't need to sleep. He refused.

Movements slow as he got out of bed and shut the alarm off, Roman walked over to his attached bathroom, immediately turning the hot water on as high as it would go. He relished in the warmth that spread through him, but it was short lived- as soon as he got out, it was gone, and he was drying his messy curls haphazardly, trying to figure out what he was going to do about the unusual paleness of his skin and the dark circles under his eyes.

Shaky fingers retrieved his pants and one of the many sweaters he owned- honestly, the blonde didn't own much besides sweaters, because they were the best for keeping him warm, which was something he needed to focus on even more now that he lived in a place like Forks. Rome hadn't been quite so cold, but even there he'd almost always remained completely covered, so this change of scenery only meant that he'd have to be wearing even more layers than he'd done there.

His moves were shaky as he applied the concealer beneath his eyes, the process messy but something he knew he had to do in order to keep up the facade that he was completely normal. That he was okay. It was important to keep up the lie so his brother didn't worry- and if there was one thing that Roman never wanted to do, it was make his brother worry. The bronzer and blush he used to give his skin life once again were less intimidating and easier to put on- he'd grown skilled at making himself look alive, which always came in handy for him. He hated the thought of upsetting anyone if they realized what he really looked like beneath everything he piled on.

It wasn't long before he heard his brother knocking at the door, the blond rushing to put his makeup away before he called that yes, he was dressed, and he'd be out in a minute. He waited with baited breath until he heard the other walk away, before it finally allowed him to relax, his shoulders slumping just slightly as he dragged a hand through his hair. His curls were a mess and still sort of damp, but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it- they were unmanageable at best, and he knew that, but that didn't mean that he didn't sometimes wish they weren't so tangle-prone. But he just shook his head and escaped his bedroom, heading downstairs towards the breakfast that he knew his brother would make him eat.

"How did you sleep?" Blake asked as his little brother came into the kitchen.

Roman's breath caught in his throat, afraid that his all-nighter had been discovered, but as he looked over at his brother, he knew that Blake wasn't even suspicious. "Good. It was kind of weird, being in a new bed- but it's not anything I'm not used to," the blond said quietly, shrugging his shoulders as a small hum escaped him. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed the jug of orange juice they'd bought the night before, pouring himself a glass carefully. Mentally, he was counting the calories of the glass, estimating almost exactly- he'd gotten good at guessing things like calories, and it was the one bit of math he could actually do successfully.

Blake nodded his head slowly, listening to what his brother was saying. "That's good. I'll drive you to school today, okay? And I'll pick you up, like I told you yesterday. But-" He paused, watching the boy carefully. "Dr. Cullen asked his kids to come to the hospital after school as well. I'm sure they'll drive you there, and then I'll pick you up on my way home after that. Deal?"

The blond nodded his head slightly, grabbing two slices of bread and sliding them into the toaster before he turned to look at Blake carefully. "What if they don't like me?" he questioned softly, and it had Blake frowning. "I mean- I don't think I'm very likable. What if they think I'm weird?"

Roman's question had no merit- Blake knew that, knew his brother had issues, but that didn't stop him from frowning at the fact that the boy had even asked it in the first place. "I'm sure they won't, Romes. You're my little ball of sunshine," he muttered gruffly, a small smile on his face. He really wasn't the kind of person to be touchy with anyone- but he knew that his little brother enjoyed it, so he wrapped his arms around the smaller male, hugging him to his chest in the most comforting way he could. He had to make Roman feel better, no matter what he did. It was why he'd bought this house in Forks, why he'd sold the penthouse he'd owned in Seattle. He had to make things right with Roman after everything that had happened after he'd left.

For all that it was worth, Roman melted against his brother as soon as he'd felt the hug, his eyes falling shut as he took in the comfort that his older brother's hugs had always provided for him. But then his toast popped up and the spell was broken, his body pulling back from the older male's as he turned, grabbing some jelly from the fridge before grabbing the toast, and spreading it over as carefully as he could manage, trying to use as little as possible. He didn't think his brother would notice, and he was right, because he hadn't- and Roman tried to eat the toast as quickly as possible before he rinsed off his dishes and slid them into the dishwasher.

"Can we get going?" he asked softly, glancing over at where he'd remembered seeing his schoolbag hanging by the front door. It was a leather tote from Italy, and as far as his brother knew, it was something Roman had bought on his travels, but no- no, not at all. It was a gift from Alec, and sometimes if he closed his eyes, he liked to pretend that he could still smell the other male's scent, embedded in the leather. But he knew that wasn't possible.

The thought of Alec had him freezing, turning back towards the stairs. "Hold on," Roman muttered, darting up to retrieve the book he'd spent the night reading before he came back down, clutching it to his chest. He wasn't going to his first day of school without it.

"Okay. I'mready."

  —————————— 

Forks High School was daunting, and maybe a little terrifying. Roman knew that it was small compared to most of the other schools in America, but something about it just felt wrong- he'd been home schooled his entire life, but now he was going to be in a school, finishing out his junior and senior year. There were only a few weeks left until Christmas vacation, and honestly, he wanted to know why he couldn't have just waited until afterwards to come, but he knew the answer. He couldn't be trusted at home alone all day- his older brother was treating school as almost a daycare service, and he couldn't really deny that it was a good plan. Even if it annoyed him.

The money his brother had handed over to buy himself lunch burned in his pocket. He hadn't had the chance to make himself a lunch to bring the night before, so this was his only option, but he hated the idea. The idea of eating food that someone else had prepared made his stomach turn, but he didn't know what he was going to do about the day's lunch just yet. Maybe he'd pocket the money and not buy anything- maybe he'd buy lunch for someone else, he really didn't know. He just knew that he definitely wouldn't be eating.

Movements tensed and cautious as he walked away from his brother's car after saying goodbye, the blond's eyes stayed glued to the small building as he tried to think about just how his day would go. Quick words with the woman in the guidance office had him retrieving his schedule, and before he really knew what was happening, he was walking through the halls of the school in an effort to find his first period class- Trigonometry.

He almost hadn't processed what was happening as his small, thin body collided with something hard, a small gasp escaping him as his heart thundered in his chest, eyes darting up to meet the amber eyes of another blond male.

"I'm- I'm sorry," Roman stuttered, petal pink lips parting slightly as his blood rushed to his cheeks, coloring them beneath the blush he'd applied that morning. He knew that his cheeks hadn't grown quite as ruddy as they would have for a normal person, but his skin was so pale that there was no doubt it was obvious to the other blonde that was staring down at him.

The male was silent, but the tense air between them both could be cut with a knife as Roman's heart pounded in his throat. It wasn't until a third blonde cleared her throat from beside both men, her eyes flicking towards her "twin" brother cautiously. "Jasper. Tell the boy it's alright," she ordered, eyes moving back towards the small boy who was still stood, staring at them both with wide eyes. He was almost as small as Alice was, and that was a feat in and of itself- but there was something off about his scent, that confused her more than she'd like to admit.

"It's quite alright." A Southern accent met Roman's ears, his hazel eyes growing even wider as he looked at them both. He'd traveled all over the world, and had heard probably hundreds of different accents, but he didn't think that anyone had ever sounded quite so amazing as this man had. He'd never been to the South, for all of his travels, but part of him wanted to say that he sounded like a Texan. It was probably the part of him that was a romantic, and always dreamed of having a love straight out of a romance novel. Looking at the much taller blond, Roman could only think of one phrase to describe the man before him: a Texas gentleman.

Slowly, Roman took a small step back from him, trying to put a little space between them before he glanced down, chewing on his lower lip nervously. "I- Can-" He stuttered helplessly as he tried to think of how to ask what he wanted of someone he'd just rudely bumped into- trying to figure it out the best he could. "Do you think you might be able to point me in the direction of the Trigonometry classroom? It's- my first day, and I really don't know where anything is." He shook his head nervously, glancing up before he looked back down.

There was a tense moment between all three blondes' before he felt the female's hand on his arm- he knew without looking that it was her, because despite everything, part of him knew that the male's hand wouldn't feel quite so delicate. "It's alright- I can show you," the female's voice was soft, almost motherly in a way as Roman finally looked up at her, a shiver running through his body- not from her cold touch, but because it was something his body did more often than not. "I'm Rosalie. This is my twin brother, Jasper."

A small smile spread across Roman's face at how nice the girl was being to him as he nodded his head, chewing on his lower lip lightly. "I'm-" He swallowed slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm Roman. It's- nice to meet you, Rosalie." His eyes flicked towards the male that still hadn't said more than a few words, cheeks growing hotter despite the fact that they didn't gain much more color. "And Jasper."

"Pleasure." Jasper's words sent another shiver down Roman's spine, this one different from the last as he struggled to keep himself composed. It was an odd, comforting shiver that soothed him more than it probably should have.

Rosalie flashed a quick smile at her twin, before setting her arm on Roman's elbow. "Come on- Jasper has something to do before class, so I'll show you the way."

The boy sent a quick smile towards Jasper in a sort of goodbye before following after Rosalie, his heart still fluttering nervously in his chest. He didn't really know what to think about everything that had just happened, but Rosalie seemed nice enough, talking to him and asking about who he was. It made him a little nervous, since he wasn't used to people being so nice to him, but he wasn't about to argue with it, more than happy to have someone being nice to him on his first day.

"So, where are you from, Roman?" Rosalie asked, making the curly haired blond glance towards the female, before giving a small, helpless shrug of his shoulders.

He thought about the best way to respond- it wasn't exactly a simple answer, after all. "Everywhere, kinda. I've never really lived in any given country more than a few months," he said quietly, tilting his head a little before shrugging his shoulders. "But most recently, I was living in Rome. Italy... I think Italy might have been my favorite place to live. I'm not really happy about not being there anymore." Despite the horrors that had happened while he was living in the city, he wanted to be back. He wanted to be with Alec. They came to a stop outside of a classroom door as he thought about the male's red eyes and angelic face. Alec had been beautiful beyond words, and a small part of him was glad that he wouldn't see him again- the boy hadn't been good for his self-esteem, at the very least.

"Oh- I've been. It's beautiful," Rosalie smiled, and Roman did his best to pay attention to what the female was saying, a small hum escaping him. "But, this is your class. I need to go to my own. I hope you have a good day, Roman."

And like that, the blonde was gone, Roman staring after her with a slightly shocked expression on his face. She was being so nice, he honestly didn't know what to think of her- and part of him really hoped they'd bump into each other again so he could maybe become friends with her one day. Turning on his heel, the boy made his way into the classroom so he could walk up to the teacher and hand her the piece of paper the guidance counselor had asked him to have all of his teachers sign. He introduced himself the best he could, before the woman nodded towards an empty seat beside a pale boy with bronze hair, and Roman let out a small hum, his eyes going a little wide. The boy was staring straight at him, with the same amber eyes he'd seen in the hallway, both from Rosalie and Jasper. Cautiously, he made his way over, before sitting himself down at digging through his bag to pull out his books.

The action caused the male beside him to tense up, and Roman glanced at him curiously, pure concern spreading over his features. "Are you alright?" he questioned, voice soft and a higher pitch than he actually wanted to admit- Roman had never been the manliest person, even though he was only sixteen, and even though he'd almost completely gone through puberty, his voice had only dropped a little from what it'd been when he was young.

Just like Jasper and Rosalie, this boy had amber eyes and skin that rivaled Roman's own for paleness. Those amber eyes were looking at him with a mixture of confusion and concern, which made Roman frown even more than he already had. "It's just-" The male paused, shaking his head before he nodded amicably towards the boy. "I'm Edward. And you are?"

"Roman,"the blonde whispered, cheeks growing ruddy for the second time that morningbefore the teacher cleared her throat, calling attention to herself for themath class to begin. Terror crept into his veins at the thought of sufferingthrough math. It'd never been his strong suit, and he was sort of terrible atit- he never really understood the entire idea behind it, and often justtrailed off in the middle of doing a problem, and he never actually got itdone. 

  ——————————  

The boy had been introduced to a few people throughout the day, each new interaction making him more and more nervous- he'd never been particularly good with meeting new people, often finding himself tense and awkward, which was why he preferred being home-schooled. But that wasn't an option anymore. More than a few of them had mentioned his walk with Rosalie that morning – apparently it was the latest gossip – but Roman stubbornly refused to say anything about it.

"Roman!" The yell had the blond jumping slightly, looking over to catch sight of the twin boys he'd met in his biology class earlier that day. They were hard to tell apart, if he was being completely honest, but they seemed nice enough, and Roman was more than happy to spend time with them if they wanted the same. The black-haired boys stopped in front of him, matching grins on their face as they looked down at his much smaller frame. "Come eat lunch with us, and our friends."

As far as he could tell, Michael and Matthew had a habit of saying the same thing at the same time- they really were a shining example of twin telepathy. At least, that's what he thought. It just seemed like something they did more often than not, and had done since he'd met them earlier that day. "I-" Swallowing slightly, Roman nodded his head before flashing a small grin at them. "Okay. Um- lead the way?"

Before he could really even think about what they were saying in response, Matthew had taken his right arm and Michael his left, tugging the small blond along in the direction he could only assume the cafeteria was in. The three males took up most of the hallway, and Roman felt the need to apologize to most of the people who had to dart out of the way, but the twins didn't seem to care in the slightest. Vaguely, Roman wondered what it would be like to be so carefree- he knew that maybe he didn't have problems that many other people did, but he could never be so relaxed. It just wasn't in his nature, at the end of the day.

He'd been planning to skip the lunch line and sit alone- but as soon as they got to the cafeteria, the twins were dragging him towards the line, rambling on about how the food at the small school wasn't actually all that bad. They kept saying that maybe it was because the school was so small, that the quality stayed fairly good, but it didn't stop Roman's stomach from turning at the idea of eating something that someone else had made. He had no way of knowing exactly how many calories lurked in the food, of knowing what flavors were being used and in what quantities, and he hated that.

Roman knew, to some degree, that he had to eat. The logical part of his brain told him that there was only so long a person could go without food, but there was a larger part of his brain that told him there was nothing wrong with skipping another meal. He'd eaten toast that morning, and anyway- he had plenty of fat to keep his body running.

The blond couldn't comprehend that the fat he was so sure he had was nowhere to be found on his body.

Michael and Matt led him through the lunch line, and he did his best to pick out something he thought he could stomach- a chicken Caesar salad and a bottle of iced tea. It was something he was constantly explaining to the people around him, because they didn't understand- he couldn't force himself to drink water, especially not bottled, because the "zero calorie" label made him squirm, his mind unable to comprehend the idea of something that didn't have any calories in it. It had to have calories somewhere- and he didn't want someone lying to him to tell him it didn't. But the twins cut off his inner turmoil as he paid for his food by tugging him away and leading him to a table with three free seats.

"Roman, these are the guys," Michael introduced as his hand gestured to the teenagers that surrounded the table, practically forcing the boy down into a chair, he and his brother flanking his sides once again.

A redhead gave Roman a pitying glance, her hand stretching across the table to offer to him. "I'm sorry about them. They have no concept of boundaries or personal space," she sent a pointed look towards both brothers. "Or manners, for that matter. I'm Daniella." Her words had a small smile spreading across Roman's face as the twins let out dramatic groans from either side of him, sputtering out how they were definitely more caring than she gave them credit for, but Daniella didn't seem to pay any real attention to their dramatics. His hand clasped with hers in a small shake before dropping back to the table.

"I don't mind too much. They're welcoming- it's better than feeling completely alone on my first day," Roman said easily, shrugging his shoulders with an innocent flourish as he opened up his container of salad and carefully pulled his chicken out, setting it off to the side and away from his lettuce. He didn't want to eat it- he didn't really trust it.

"If you ask me, it's probably because Mikey here thinks you're cute." The words came from a somewhat obnoxious-looking boy on the other side of the mentioned twin, his arm wrapping around Mike's neck affectionately as he hugged the other male close, hand extending towards the new addition to the table. "I'm Dario. It's nice to meet you."

The blond shot the dark-skinned male a small smile, shaking his outstretched hand briefly, before he focused back on the food in front of him, too embarrassed to speak after being informed of the most likely reason he'd been invited to sit with the group. Maybe it wasn't anywhere near the truth- but he was still embarrassed by the possibility.

"Don't pay any attention to Dario- we don't," a brunette smile at him, though there was a bad feeling that settled into Roman's stomach at the sight of it. Something just felt off- like she wasn't nearly as nice as she appeared. "I'm Rebecca, and you're cute. We should hang out sometime. Without... Everyone else." Her words had the blonde shifting uncomfortably, glancing down at his food as he nervously poured the dressing onto the lettuce before closing the container back up before shaking it to spread it around.

A sweet looking Asian girl immediately jumped to his defense, though. "Come on, Becca. We don't even know if he likes girls- don't assume," she reprimanded her friend lightly, making Roman relax once again.

"I don't," he offered.

The table all paused to glance towards him, all with their own personal looks of curiosity on their faces.

"At least, I don't think I do. I've never really kissed anyone, so I don't think I can say definitively either way. But- I don't really like the idea of kissing a girl, so I guess that would mean I'm gay, doesn't it?" It seemed like the simplest train of thought to him, so Roman had never really stopped to think. He'd wanted to kiss Alec- had really wanted to kiss him, so he definitely wasn't sexually absent.

"Well I'm Azumi," the girl introduced herself, an even sweeter smile spreading across her lips. "Don't worry about being left out around here – my twin, Ayaka, is asexual, and you probably figured out how Michael is bisexual. Given it's such a small town, we try very hard to stand with each other in regards to those sorts of things."

Roman nodded his head slightly, not entirely understanding it all, but okay with letting her speak about whatever she wanted. A shiver ran down his spine as the door that led to the outside in the cafeteria opened up, a group of beautiful people walking in. Unable to stop himself, Roman's eyes followed them, almost staring at everyone as they walked to an empty table in the cafeteria.

"I see the Cullen's have caught your attention. Of course." Eyes flashing towards Rebecca as she spoke, Roman looked at her in confusion. Were those the people he was supposed to meet with after school at the hospital? Were those the kids Dr. Cullen had?

"They're Dr. Cullen and his wife's adopted kids or something-" she explained, before Roman cut her off quickly.

"-I know Dr. Cullen has kids. I just... wasn't aware what they looked like," he muttered, shaking his head a little before reaching out and attempting to open his bottle of iced tea. It took a moment of struggling before Matthew took the bottle from his hands and opened it before handing it back.

"Oh- well," Rebecca got a sort of petulant look on her face before shrugging it off and continuing. "They're all, like, together. Besides Jasper and Alice- but they sort of act like they used to date, so who knows? Maybe they'll get back together one day."

"Dr. Cullen is like some sort of foster dad-slash-matchmaker. Maybe someday he'll adopt me," Azumi cooed, but she smiled at Roman, showing him she was only joking.

An odd sort of feeling settled into the pit of Roman's stomach at the thought that the beautiful blonde boy he'd met would be with someone else- but he didn't quite know what it was, so he just sort of let it drop and focused on the brunette while she explained the Cullen's to him as they entered the cafeteria- some of them he knew, but he didn't really feel the need to interrupt any more than he already had.

"I guess first would be Edward and Bella Cullen. The guy with the bronze hair and the brunette that's practically glued to his side? They're like- dating, or whatever. Not all too interesting, because they only ever seem interested in each other, and their family. The girl with the bronze curls? That's apparently Edward's little sister, and her boyfriend Jacob Cullen is next to her. He- well. He sticks out like a sore thumb, since he's so tan and everyone else is so pale," she hummed, her eyes shamelessly dragging over the family. She wasn't even trying to hide it, which kind of embarrassed Roman, as he attempted to keep his glances more discreet. "Then there's Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale- but you said you knew Rosalie already, so... Emmett's the huge guy next to her, with black hair. They're together, and Jasper is Rosalie's twin brother. And then the little pixie-like girl with black hair is Alice. She's, like, really weird. Always zoning out randomly- And that's everyone."

Roman nodded his head slightly, chewing on his lower lip as he tried to think of what to say, hand raising slightly to wave at Rosalie, a small smile on his lips. "I think that's a lot of information I didn't need to know," he said finally, only just catching a few smiles from the Cullen table as he looked away. "Their lives are their business." His voice was softer than he would have wanted, but there was still a fair bit of weight to his words as he spoke them. "And I don't think we really have the right to judge them on whatever happens. They're beautiful- so what? They're still people. They still deserve the privacy that you and I get."

He could tell that someone wanted to say something about the subject- but he more or less tuned out the rest of the period, messing with his food but not taking a bite. And when the bell rang, he picked up his untouched salad and empty iced tea bottle, carrying them to the trash and tossing them out before he let out a small sigh, staring into the trash can before fixing his bag on his shoulder and disappearing out into the hallway.

  —————————— 

Roman walked into his history class for the last period of the day, more than ready for the day to be over. Honestly, he had no idea how long it'd been since he slept, and he could feel his crash coming on. He halfway didn't even want to go to the hospital after school, but he knew he had to, for his brother. But as he walked up to the teacher to introduce himself, he was keenly aware of eyes locked onto his form, and as the man pointed him towards an empty seat, he noticed Jasper staring at him intently with what looked to be soft eyes- but it was so hard to tell with those amber colored irises.

Being directed towards the empty seat beside Jasper, Roman sat down cautiously, a small smile spreading across his lips as he flicked his eyes towards the other male. "How has your day been so far, Jasper?" he asked quietly, turning in his seat slightly to see him better.

A small grin spread across the other blond's lips, and the action sent a nervous flutter through Roman's stomach, his cheeks turning a bright pink color that he tried to ignore. Jasper almost seemed to hold his breath, but it was soon gone, and he was talking to Roman as if nothing was wrong. "Aren't I supposed to be asking you that? You are the new one out of the two of us, after all."

Maybe it was because the other male hadn't said much during their first encounter, but now Roman found himself truly admiring the beauty of his Southern accent. It sent a happy shiver down his spine, and he couldn't help but think that he might be happy listening to it for the rest of his life.

"Well, mine was... good." Maybe he didn't really want to admit to why he thought it was good- that he'd successfully gotten through the day so far with only two pieces of toast in his system, and he hadn't yet fallen asleep. Those were things that'd he'd never be able to tell another person, because they wouldn't understand- and Jasper was Dr. Cullen's son, which meant that it really wasn't safe to divulge what he'd been doing to him. It just wouldn't end well for anyone.

"I think mine is better, now that I know we're in the same class."

Jasper's words had Roman grinning, his face almost hurting from the expression that it wasn't entirely used to showing so harshly. He knew that it had been a sort of miracle that he was in the same class as Jasper- it was an advanced class, for seniors, and Roman had never been good at school, but this was History. Maybe he didn't understand most of math and science, but history was something he'd always been good at, because he liked stories- and that's all history really was, anyway. A bunch of stories, that happened to be true.

He might have said something more if it hadn't been for the teacher starting class, announcing to everyone that they were starting a new unit that week.

  ——————————  

Nerves filled Roman's body as he walked out of Forks High after his classes were over, looking around apprehensively. Part of him was terrified that his brother had forgotten to come pick him up, but as his eyes landed on the man standing at the far end of the parking lot, his nerves faded away. It wasn't quite so terrifying now that he knew his brother was really there. Roman had always been a nervous person, craving these small reassurances so he could calm himself down and not freak out.

He tried to walk as carefully as he could, not to show his excitement, but as soon as he was a few yards away from his older brother, he lost all composure and broke into a small jog as he made his way over, arms sliding around Blake's waist as his face squished into the male's chest. Vaguely, he could feel Blake tensing a little from the affection before he returned his brother's hug, arms wrapping around the smaller boy's body as he let out a small hum.

"How was your day today?" Blake asked as he looked down at his little brother, eyebrow cocked slightly in question as he waited for the younger male to look up at him.

"I-" Roman paused a heartbeat, sucking in a deep breath of air. It wasn't like anything bad had actually happened, and part of him had actually had fun. He'd met some good people, and they really did make him feel good about being in a new school- but when he was looking back on his day, a feeling of panic settled through him. Instinctively, he began second-guessing everything that everyone had said to him, wondering if they really had liked him, or if they'd only been lying. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?" he said finally, looking down as his shoulders slumped, a sad air beginning to surround him.

Blake frowned at his little brother, an obviously questioning look on his face as his eyes raked over Roman's thin form, trying to figure out if this was something he should be concerned about or not. Part of him was saying that he needed to speak to the boy and convince him to tell him what was wrong- that it was the only way Roman was going to get better, but a bigger part of him didn't want to butt into something that didn't necessarily concern him. It was something he'd never had to deal with before, because the last time he'd been tasked with raising the boy, Roman was young and didn't have these problems- but now it was his job to make sure he was okay, and Blake wasn't entirely sure what he was thinking, only sure that he had to make it better. Somehow.

"Okay- let's go meet Dr. Cullen, alright?"

"Thanks, Bubba..." The boy ignored the gazes he felt on his back as he slid into his brother's car, arms self-consciously wrapping around his middle until his brother joined him and began driving away from the school.

  —————————— 

[ EDITED ]

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